flour
FLOW-uh
Flour (noun) means a fine powder made by grinding grain, especially wheat, used mainly for baking. Example: “We ran out of flour, so I could not bake bread this morning.”
noun
1
A fine powder made by grinding grain, especially wheat, used mainly for baking.
"We ran out of flour, so I could not bake bread this morning."
"She sifted the flour before adding it to the mixing bowl."
"The recipe calls for two cups of plain flour."
verb
1
To coat or dust something with flour.
"She floured the baking tin so the cake would not stick."
"Lightly flour your hands before you shape the dough into balls."
"Flour the work surface before rolling out the dough."
How to use flour
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe powder you get from grinding grain, used to make bread, cakes, and pastry.
Common mistake
Easy to mix up with "flower" (the plant) since they sound identical — they are historically related but now mean completely different things.
Easily confused with
Common pairings
plain flour
self-raising flour
flour a surface
wheat flour
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Word forms
- Third person singular
- flours
- Past tense
- floured
Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
We ran out of _____, so I could not bake bread this morning.
Etymology
Originally just a spelling variant of "flower" — flour was seen as the "flower," or finest part, of ground grain. The two words split apart in spelling around the early 1800s.
Class of 1800
flour joined the language around 1800.
See the full Class of 1800 →
Synonyms
View more →Related words
Rhymes for flour
See all rhymes for flour →Frequently asked questions
What does “flour” mean?
The word “flour” means a fine powder made by grinding grain, especially wheat, used mainly for baking. In plain terms, the powder you get from grinding grain, used to make bread, cakes, and pastry.
How do you pronounce “flour”?
“Flour” is pronounced FLOW-uh (/ˈflaʊ.ɚ/ in IPA).
How do you use “flour” in a sentence?
Here is “flour” used in a sentence: “She sifted the flour before adding it to the mixing bowl.”
What part of speech is “flour”?
Depending on how it is used, “flour” can be a noun and a verb.
Where does the word “flour” come from?
The word “flour” dates back to around 1800. Originally just a spelling variant of "flower" — flour was seen as the "flower," or finest part, of ground grain. The two words split apart in spelling around the early 1800s.
Is “flour” a common word?
“Flour” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.
How many meanings does “flour” have?
“Flour” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a fine powder made by grinding grain, especially wheat, used mainly for baking.
What is the difference between flour and flower?
They sound identical but mean different things: flour is the fine powder made by grinding grain, used mainly in baking, while a flower is the blossom of a plant. They sound the same because flour began as a specialised use of flower meaning the finest part of the ground grain.
Is plain flour the same as all-purpose flour?
Yes — they are the same product under different names. "Plain flour" is the British term and "all-purpose flour" the American term for general wheat flour with no raising agents added, so recipes from the UK and US use the two names interchangeably.
What is self-raising flour?
Self-raising flour is plain flour with a raising agent (baking powder) already mixed in; American "self-rising" versions typically include a little salt as well. It saves adding raising agents separately in bakes such as scones and sponge cakes, but it should not replace plain flour where no rise is wanted.
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